Improvement in cast-iron building-pieces



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcEo ROBERT NVOOD, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAST-IRON BUILDING-PIECES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,975, dated December l5, 19GB.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT WOOD, ofPhi1adelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Gast-Iron Building-Pieces, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reierence being` had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My improved building-pieces consist of hollow shells of castiron, havin g projections and holes arranged substantially as described hereinafter', so that the pieces may be readily arranged in their proper relative position, and i'orm a strong, light, and durable wall.

In order to enable others to make and apply my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner Ot carrying it into etlt'ect.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ot' this specitication, Figure l is a perspective view otl one of my improved cast-iron bnilding-j'iieoes as constructed for straight walls, Fig. 2, a vertical section ot' a portion ot' a wall composed of my improved building-pieces; Fig. 3, a plan view of the building-pieces ar an ged for a circular or curved wall 5 and Fig. 4, an elevation of Fig. 3, looking' toward the interior of the wall.

Myimproved buildin g-pieces, as seen in Figs. l and 2, consist ot' very iight cast-iron shells, having the external form and dimensions ot' ordinary bricks, each building-piece having the base a, the opposite vertical lian ges or ribs, Z) and b', which i'orm the ends oi' the piece, and the rib c, which t'orms the front or exposed side, the piece being open at the opposite side and top, as clearly shown in Fien l, so that the molding and casting of the pieces may be conducted without resorting to any elaborate manipulation, or to the use of expensive patterns and core-boxes. 0n the inside of each building-piece, and near the corner where the ribs b and c meet, is a pin, d, which projects above the edge ofthe ribs, a similar pin being similarly situated in respect to the opposite corner, where the ribs b and c meet. In the bars a ofthe building-pieces are two holes, c and c, each being otA such a diameter as to freely admit one ot' the projecting pins, the two holes being situated at equal distances from a line, drawn midway between the opposite ends of the piece.

The manner in which these buildingpieces are arranged in respect to each other will be best understood by reference to Fig. 2, which may be considered part of an untinished wall, composed ofthe pieces A, A', A", Aff', A, and Am". The pieces composing the lower layer are rst laid end to end on a suitable foundation, after which the second layer is placed on the first, the projecting pins ot the lower pieces entering the holes e and ef of the pieces composing the upper layer. Thus the projecting pin d of the piece A enters the hole c ot' the piece A, while the pin d ot the piece A enters the adjacent hole ot' the same piece Af, which ot' necessityY must maintain the two pieces A and A' in their proper contignity to each other, and this arrangement is continued throughout the structure. The projecting pins are so situated in respect to the holes that when the pieces are properly fitted together the line of junction between two ot the pieces ot one layer must be midway between the opposite ends Ot' one of the pieces ot' the layer above and that below. rIhe pins and holes thus serve two purposes-namely, as guidesby means ot' which the pieces are arranged in their proper relative position without the necessity of any care or adjusting On the part ot' the builder, and as a means ot locking the pieces intimately together, for it will be seen that one Ot' the pieces cannot be disturbed without displacing the adjacent pieces above and below, each piece being maintained in its posit-ion laterally as well as longitudinally, and being prevented from any tendency to be twisted out of place by four pins-enamely, by its two pins which enter the holes ofthe upper pieces and by the two pins of two lower pieces. It may be advisable in many instances te use a thin light cement at the points where the pieces rest upon and where they meet each other. After the wall has been built to the proper height it should be surmounted with a proper coping', in which are holes for receiving the pins of the upper layer of buildin g-pieees. The wall, when completed, will present on its exterior face an uniform system of layers and joints, similar to those of a brick or stone wall, which it may be made to represent by painting. The inside ot' the wall will have a number of interstices7 which may be illed up by coarse cement and finished with a coating Ot' plaster, so as to present a uniform smooth surface. The necessity of lling up the interior of the pieces may be avoided by so forming each piece thta the top only will be open. Both sides ofa Wall equal in thickness to the Width of one of the pieces will consequently present the same appearance.

Although my improved building-pieces may be used with advantage in the construction of dwelling houses and other structures, they are especially applicable to the erection of chimneys, Which,when made ot' brick, become rapidly deteriorated by the action ofthe pro ducts of combustion and by exposure to the atmosphere. Vheu thus employed, it Will be rarely necessary to till up the inside of the walls with cement. When used for the erec tion of chimneys which have to be subjected to a great heat, the' inside of the pieces may be lled in with tireclay or other refractory material.

1t will be evident that my improved building-pieces may be made ot' any form and dimensions which the nature of the structure may require. For instance, they may be made of the forni seen in Figs. 3 and 4, when a curved 1 r circular Wallis required, and in many cases the pieces may be made lighter by cutting` away the patterns from which they are molded-for instance, the bases ot' the pieces may be of the form seen in Fig. 3, or the ends of the pieces may beinadelighter by cutting away the portion represented by red lines, Fig. 1.

Structures of the most durable and permanent character may be made of my improved building-pieces, which are lighter than bricks or stones of similar dimensions. The structure, too, can be erected With rapidity and Without that delay required in building` Walls of stone or brick, the pieces being, as it were, self-adj usting to their proper position.

The strength of a Wall made of my improved buildin g-pieces is, as I have found by practical tests, equal to that of a brick Wall of double the thickness.

Without confining myself' to any particular form or dimensions of the building-pieces, or to the number or shape ot the projecting pins and holes, l claim as my invention, and desireA to secure by Letters Patent- Building-pieces consisting of hollow castyiron shells, having projections and holes arranged substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT WOOD.

Witnesses:

J oHN WHITE, CHARLES HoWsoN. 

